The Gunners were beaten 2-1 by the German side in the Europa League on Thursday night as struggles continued under the Spanish manager.

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Unai Emery may have finally just hit rock bottom.

Arsenal’s beleaguered head coach must have thought things couldn’t get any worse after Saturday’s miserable performance against Southampton which left fans chanting for him to be sacked.

But he would have been wrong because tonight his misery has plunged to new depths following a 2-1 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt.

This latest horror show, which leaves Arsenal needing to win in Liege in their final group game to guarantee top spot, means Emery’s side have now gone seven games without a victory in all competitions.

And it was all played out in front of the lowest ever attendance at the Emirates Stadium. Official figures, based on tickets sold, will show there were 49,419 inside the ground, but the real figure was way below 30,000.

This surely is as bad as it gets for Emery? He can’t survive this, can he?

For the first 45 minutes it looked like Arsenal were finally going to get their first win since Nicolas Pepe’s late heroics earned them victory against Vitoria in this competition back in October.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 10th goal of the season gave the hosts a deserved lead at the break against a Frankfurt side who had offered next to nothing.

But from the moment Daichi Kamada equalised with the visitors’ first shot on target early in the second half, you could sense there was only going to be one winner.

Kamada struck again 10 minutes later to give the German side the lead and Arsenal had no answer.

To their credit, the home fans stuck with their side until the end – but the few that were still in the stadium at the full-time whistle made their feelings abundantly clear.

Surely this has to be the end for Emery now?

As the clock ticked down he looked a beaten man. Hands plunged deep in his pockets, he had nothing left to give. It was hard not to feel sorry for him.

Arsenal head to Norwich on Sunday and for the sake of everyone, including Emery himself, a change has to made before that trip to Carrow Road.

It’s clear he can’t turn this slump around. Tonight he brought back Granit Xhaka for the first time since stripping him of the captaincy and paired him with David Luiz in central midfield to try and make things more compact.

But Luiz was off with a chest injury before half-time and Xhaka limped through the second half with an ankle problem. That just sums up how things are going for Emery right now.

This is the first time since 1992 that Arsenal have gone seven games without a win and the way things are going you would have no confidence in them ending that run at Norwich on Sunday.

Something has to change and it has to be Emery. He’s lost the fans and the players and there is simply no way back.

Source – Goal.com

Russia’s staging of games at Euro 2020 could be under threat after a World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) committee recommended the country be banned from hosting sports events for four years.

St Petersburg was confirmed as a Euro 2020 host city in 2014

Russia could also be banned from next year’s Tokyo Olympics – having also been excluded from the 2018 Winter Games – and other major competitions.

Wada’s compliance review committee (CRC) recommended a raft of measures after declaring the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) non-compliant over inconsistencies in anti-doping data.

One of the proposals is to withdraw the right to host an event already awarded unless it’s “legally and practically impossible”.

St Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, is a venue for Euro 2020 group games and a quarter-final tie – a fixture potentially involving England.

Wada’s executive committee will consider the recommendations and make the final decision at a meeting in Paris on 9 December.

The CRC made its recommendations based “in particular” on a forensic review of inconsistencies found in some of the data obtained by the agency from the Moscow Laboratory in January 2019.

The committee concluded that there is “an extremely serious case of non-compliance with the requirement to provide an authentic copy of the Moscow data, with several aggravating features”.

CRC’s “strong proposed consequences” include:

• Russia may not host, or bid for or be granted the right to host any major events for four years
• Russia may not bid for the right to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, irrespective of whether the bidding takes place during or after the four-year period
• The country’s flag may not be flown at any major event staged in the four-year period
• Russian athletes and their support personnel may only participate in major events staged in the four-year period where they are able to demonstrate that they are not implicated in any way by the non-compliance. In such circumstances these athletes would compete as neutrals
• Where the right to host a major event in the four-year period has already been awarded to Russia, the signatory must withdraw that right and re-assign the event to another country, unless it is legally or practically impossible to do so

The four-year period would start “on the date on which the decision that Rusada is non-compliant becomes final”.

US Anti-Doping Agency head Travis Tygart said: “It’s great the CRC has recognised the egregious conduct of Russia toward clean athletes and now let’s all hope the Wada executive committee uses the same resolve to ensure clean athletes are not again sold down the river and actually supports this unfortunate but necessary outcome.”

Rusada was initially declared non-compliant in November 2015 after a Wada-commissioned report by sports lawyer Professor Richard McLaren alleged widespread corruption that amounted to state-sponsored doping in Russian track and field athletics.

A further report, published in July 2016, declared Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme for four years across the “vast majority” of summer and winter Olympic sports.

In 2018, Wada reinstated Rusada as compliant after the national agency agreed to release data from its Moscow laboratory from the period between January 2012 and August 2015.

However, positive findings contained in a version courtesy of a whistleblower in 2017 were missing from the January 2019 data, which prompted a new inquiry.

Source – BBC News

Serie A finds itself under the microscope yet again as statements made by the club supremo were perceived to have racist undertones.

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Brescia president Massimo Cellino has found himself in the headlines once again after controversially referring to Mario Balotelli’s rocky situation at the club as “black”.

Balotelli had been dropped for the Serie A side’s clash with Roma on Sunday following a training ground incident that saw coach Fabio Grosso kick the striker out of the session, with Grosso hinting later at a press conference that his charge simply was not putting in enough effort.

“I demand great intensity and a high tempo in my training sessions,” the Italian said at the time. “When that doesn’t happen, I prefer to change and make the session tougher. He didn’t do that and was set to one side. At a certain point, he has to help himself.”

Appearing on Monday at a Serie A assembly, however, Cellino was asked to comment on the former Inter man’s situation, and sparked controversy due to the choice of words used.

“What do you want me to say about him,” the president began. “He’s black. He’s working to lighten up but he’s having difficulty. We can’t think that one player alone will save the squad. That would be wrong for the team.”

The debate arose out of Cellino’s use of ‘nero’, a word that could mean ‘gloomy’ as well as ‘black’, while ‘schiarirsi’ can be interpreted as ‘lighten up’ as well as ‘clear up’.

Cellino’s comments come just weeks after Balotelli was subject to racist abuse from Hellas Verona supporters , with the ex-Manchester City star visibly angry as he kicked the ball towards the fans in question and had to be stopped from storming off the pitch.

With racism in Italian football seemingly becoming more of an issue in recent times, press immediately jumped on Cellino’s perceived gaffe, while the club itself did little to help the situation in a statement released shortly after the comments were made, claiming that the former Leeds United owner’s words were merely a misunderstood joke.

“Regarding the quotes released this afternoon by President Massimo Cellino, referring to our player Mario Balotelli, Brescia clarify that they were a paradoxical joke, clearly misunderstood, released in the attempt to defuse excessive media exposure and to protect the player.”

To potentially make matters worse regarding the spirit around the club as a whole, Cellino also called out coach Grosso for not handling the situation as well as he could have.

“The coach was wrong because he only spoke about Balotelli and not the team,” he said. “I bought him because I felt that he could add value; instead he is becoming a point of weakness for overexposure in the media.

“He must respond on the field and not on social media, but he isn’t the scapegoat for the difficulties the team finds itself dealing with.”

Source – Goal.com

The former Netherlands manager has been heavily criticised for imitating the Nazi slogan after a pitchside interview conducted in German.

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Marco van Basten has been suspended from Fox Sports after saying infamous Nazi salute “Sieg Heil” on air.

He made the remark after a pitchside interview of German manager Frank Wormuth, who had just watched his Heracles side lose 4-1 to Ajax at the Johan Cruyff Arena. Van Basten has claimed that he was attempting to ridicule the the German language skills of pitchside colleague Hans Kraay.

Fox Sports have branded the comment “stupid and inappropriate”, while Van Basten has been forced to apologise. “Life is like football. Sometimes you score, sometimes you miss,” he said. “But if you miss, that does not mean that you are a bad person.”

As a former Nazi slogan, “Sieg Heil” has deeply unpleasant connotations. The controversy came on a weekend in which all players in the Netherlands‘ top two divisions agreed not to play the first minute of their games in a protest against racism following the abuse suffered by Ahmad Mendes Moreira during a match between Excelsior and Den Bosch earlier this month.

Van Basten has now been suspended for a week, with his fee donated to the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation which promotes education and awareness over the history of the Second World War. In a statement announcing his suspension, Fox Sports suggested that he had used “the wrong joke at the wrong time”.

Netherlands manager between 2004 and 2008 and an icon of the Oranje during his playing days, Van Basten is one of the most recognisable faces on Dutch television. He won the Ballon d’Or three times during his career, while also inspiring the Netherlands to victory at Euro ’88.

Fox Sports added that Van Basten “did not want to hurt anyone deliberately, apologised and accepted the consequences.” He is set to return to their Saturday night talkshow, De Eretribune, on Saturday 7 December.

As well as making a public apology, Van Basten also called Wormuth after the game to issue a personal apology.

“He called me in the middle of the night and said it was a bad joke,” Wormuth told Dutch newspaper Tubantia.

“He said it was because Hans Kraay’s German is so bad and it wasn’t about me. Great, I answered in Dutch that I do not feel it was about me… I don’t see any connection between his words and myself.”

Source – Goal.com

The Blues were beaten 2-1 at the Etihad on Saturday night but they once again showed that they are learning fast under their new manager.

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On the eve of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Manchester City, Chelsea boss Frank Lampard insisted he was looking forward to seeing how his young side measured up to the champions.

“It’s a great test to see where we’re at,” he admitted. “It won’t be the end story. Anyone can go to Manchester City and lose; they are such a strong outfit, so I won’t be making huge judgements, win or lose.”

Technically, Chelsea failed their test, losing 2-1 at the Etihad. But Lampard will take huge encouragement out of his team’s performance.

They’re clearly not yet capable of beating the best teams in the Premier League, having already been defeated at home by Liverpool this season, but they again showed that they can compete with England‘s elite.

The Blues have now lost five consecutive games against big-six opposition since Lampard took charge during the summer but during the opening quarter of the game in Manchester, it was Chelsea who looked like the side most capable of reeling in league leaders Liverpool.

Chelsea had been slated for their performances on their last two trips to the Etihad. Antonio Conte’s side suffered arguably the most one-sided 1-0 loss in Premier League history two seasons ago, while Maurizo Sarri’s team were humiliated 6-0, the club’s worst defeat in 28 years.

At that point, the gap between City and Chelsea looked as wide as it has ever been during the Roman Abramovich era.

However, Chelsea showed on Saturday that they are rapidly making up ground.

City were fortunate to level the game before the half-hour mark, with Kevin De Bruyne’s low drive taking a decisive deflection off Kurt Zouma, though there was nothing lucky about Riyad Mahrez’s solo strike eight minutes later.

Chelsea were unable to get themselves back into the game as Pep Guardiola’s side took control in the second half, but there were plenty of positives for the Blues, who restricted City to just 46.74 percent possession.

Tammy Abraham failed to get on the scoresheet but he looked right at home on such a grand stage, while youngsters Christian Pulisic, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James all impressed.

However, games at this level are decided by small details and Chelsea were ultimately punished for their sloppiness.

Jorginho gave the ball away in the lead-up to De Bruyne’s equaliser, while Kepa Arrizabalaga was lucky to see Sergio Aguero strike the bar after giving the ball straight to the Argentine striker.

Emerson Palmieri, meanwhile, was clearly targeted by City and endured a torrid evening, meaning Lampard will have to ask himself if he erred in selecting the full-back.

Still, both he and his players will learn from this failed examination of their title credentials. This is a team that is clearly only going to improve and a top-four finish looks well within their reach.

“If you look at City,” Lampard mused afterwards, “they are an example to follow and we’re only at the start of that process.”

Chelsea, though, are progressing at a rate that nobody could have envisaged. When their next big test comes around, don’t be surprised if they pass it.

Source – Goal.com

The former Red Devils manager was full of praise for his old player in the wake of an impressive feat.

Manchester United icon Sir Alex Ferguson is impressed by what he’s seen of Ryan Giggs as Wales manager.

Giggs sealed the nation’s spot at Euro 2020 this week after they beat Hungary 2-0 to claim second spot in Group E – one point clear of Slovakia.

Having played his entire career under the guidance of Ferguson, Giggs’ switch to management has so far proven successful with his former mentor full of praise.

“Ryan was always going to be a top man,” Ferguson said while speaking at a fundraiser for international football charity Grassroot Soccer in London.

“He is intelligent, he has great drive about him and is doing a great job with Wales – and giving young players a chance too. It is fantastic.”

Giggs took charge of Wales in January 2018 and has won nine of his 19 games in charge to date.

Having replaced Chris Coleman at the helm after his predecessor had guided Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016, Giggs has faced plenty of criticism as his side only scraped through qualifying.

They ultimately got the job done however with Wales midfielder Joe Allen adamant Giggs has now been vindicated.

“He has delivered, simple as that,” Allen said. “He came in off the back of a great manager who had huge success.

“It was always going to be tough but he has got us there. I think questions have been asked of everything really – selection, tactics – but nine times out of 10 he has got it right.

“That is one of the big reasons we have made it.

“The ambition and target was to get to the Euros. We would have loved to have done it more easily but beggars can’t be choosers. Any way you get there is huge success.

“A lot of people are going to have to eat their words with some of the criticism which has been thrown at us.”

Wales have now gone seven games without defeat and they will back themselves to surprise people once again at Euro 2020.

At the tournament three years ago, the nation topped their group ahead of England and defeated Belgium in the quarter-finals before falling to eventual champions Portugal in the semi-finals.

Source – Goal.com

Liverpool have moved forward with plans to extend Anfield’s capacity to about 60,000 by inviting local residents to attend public consultation events.

Liverpool’s Main Stand was redeveloped in 2016 – the Anfield Road End is to its left

The Premier League leaders hope to develop the stadium’s Anfield Road End in a bid to build on the current capacity of 54,074.

Over 5,000 leaflets have been distributed outlining consultation events from 29 November to 4 December.

Liverpool completed the expansion of Anfield’s Main Stand in 2016.

The Main Stand development cost about £100m.

Outline planning permission was also in place to redevelop the Anfield Road End of the ground.

Those plans would have added a further 4,825 seats but in August the club chose to instead pursue “ambitious new plans”, prompting the consultation process.

“The consultation events are designed for local residents, businesses and fans to learn more and offer their feedback on the club’s vision to create a bigger Anfield, which would allow more fans to watch some of Europe’s best football in a world-class facility,” the club said.

Interested parties can attend consultation events at The Kop Bar from 16:00 GMT on Friday 29 November, Monday 2 December (16:00) and Tuesday 3 December (12:00).

A pop-up information stand will also be open on Anfield Road before the games against Brighton on 30 November and Everton on 4 December.

The history of Anfield

The old Main Stand at Anfield in 1965

• – Anfield opened in 1884 with a capacity of about 20,000 and was originally the home of Everton FC before Liverpool took up residence in 1892
• – A redesign in 1928 gave the stadium a capacity of 30,000
• – Anfield’s highest attendance came in 1952, when 61,905 saw the Reds take on Wolverhampton Wanderers
• – The introduction of seating on the Kop and redesigns of the Anfield Road, Kemlyn Road (Centenary) and Main stands in the 1970s, 80s and 90s brought the stadium to a capacity of just over 45,000
• – Liverpool officially opened the stadium’s new Main Stand in 2016, increasing the overall capacity to 54,074

Source – BBC News

The axed coach wasn’t able to say goodbye to some of his players face-to-face.

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Sacked Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has left a heartbreaking message for his former players after not being able to say farewell them all in person.

The Argentinian tactican was dismissed from his role at the North London club on Tuesday night, with Jose Mourinho appointed the club’s new coach by the next morning.

With the majority of his senior players on international break at the time of his axing, Pochettino was forced to write a goodbye message on a whiteboard at the club’s Enfield Training Centre.

Pochettino’s assistant coach Jesus Perez, who also departed the club, used his Twitter account to post a picture of Pochettino writing the words, along with the final message.

“Big thanks to you all,” Pochettino wrote. “We can’t to (sic) say goodbye…You will always be in our hearts.”

Pochettino has been linked with a move to German champions Bayern Munich, who currently have Hansi Flick as interim manager after parting ways with Niko Kovac.

Leeds United coach Marcelo Bielsa had sympathy for his compatriot, who made the Champions League final only five months ago, and believes he will land on his feet and eventually be in charge of one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“Maybe he could not enjoy this achievement at Tottenham,” Bielsa said in a press conference.

“Maybe because I do not know the real situation, but he will take this credit because big clubs in the world will try to take him. This manager will lead one of the best teams in the world.

“I like and love him a lot. It upsets me. When something not good happens to him I cannot ignore this.

“In 15 days he will be at the top again because when you see the things from afar, after you can see what you realise what he really achieved.

“What I say now doesn’t link with the relationship I have with Mauricio and everybody will realise when he takes the next team.

“Now he leaves a team that is attractive to Mourinho. This is a big achievement. The next team he receives will create that respect.”

Source – Goal.com

Diego Maradona has resigned as coach of Argentina first division club Gimnasia La Plata after two months in charge and the club on the brink of relegation.

Under Diego Maradona, Gimnasia won just three games. Luciano Bisbal/Getty Images

Gimnasia sit 22nd in the table with Maradona winning three and losing five times out of his eight games.

Maradona’s decision to quit his post comes after Sunday’s announcement by Gimnasia president Gabriel Pellegrino that he will not run for reelection. Pellegrino has been at the helm since 2016 and the Argentina legend’s resignation is perceived by the local media as an act of loyalty to the club president.

“Maradona is no longer the coach of Gimnasia,” Pellegrino said. “He said that he was there to add not to subtract.”

The presidential elections are held every three years and will take place on Saturday. Maradona had considered remaining in charge for the last three games of the year but has decided to relinquish the reins immediately.

“I felt that everyone together… were finding the way for Gimnasia to stay in the first division. This was the moment to keep going with the project and look for the necessary reinforcements,” Maradona said.

“I hope that whoever comes in to manage the club can continue with the work we started and keep Gimnasia where it belongs. I wish you all the best, with all my heart.”

Maradona’s departure repeats a well-worn theme in his coaching career. Of the six club sides he has managed, only one job lasted more than a year.

The only team he managed for longer was Al Wasl of the United Arab Emirates, where he remained for 14 months in charge in 2011-12.

His previous club job before returning to Argentina was at Mexican side Dorados de Sinaloa, where he left in June after nine months in charge.

Pellegrino was responsible for bringing the 1986 World Cup winner back to work in Argentina for the first time since 2010, when Maradona left the helm of Argentina’s national team.

Argentinian newspaper Clarin report that Maradona is also going through a difficult personal time and also has health issues.

Earlier this month, Maradona, 59, played down concerns about his health and stated he was “more alive than ever”. Maradona left his job as coach of Mexican side Dorados de Sinaloa in June after nine months in charge to focus on his health. He underwent a knee operation before deciding to take the Gimnasia job on Sept. 5.

After Sunday’s game against Arsenal, Gimnasia play away to Banfield on Nov. 29 before hosting Cordoba on Dec. 8.

Source – ESPN